Defy Danger Move
Summary
The Defy Danger move is a basic Dungeon World move used when characters face danger and need to avoid consequences. The move requires rolling 2d6 plus a relevant stat modifier, with the stat determined by how the character approaches the danger: Constitution for enduring, Dexterity for dodging or acting quickly, Strength for powering through, Intelligence for thinking through problems, Wisdom for judging situations or tracking threats, or Charisma for affecting others' emotions or making demands. On a 10+ result, the character fully succeeds. On a 7-9, the character succeeds but faces a cost or complication. A result of 6 or lower means the danger comes to pass, and the player marks experience.
The move has seen extensive use throughout the campaign, employed by multiple characters in situations ranging from intimidation and quick rope-work to understanding control mechanisms, moving heavy rocks, tracking creatures through forests, attempting unconventional communication, defending against attacks in combat, disguising carts, restraining animal companions, executing stealth operations, examining weapons, forcing entry into locked structures, and stealing keys from guards.
Details
Defy Danger is triggered when a character acts despite an immediate threat or attempts to overcome an obstacle. The player rolls 2d6 and adds the modifier for whichever stat best matches their approach to the problem. Shawn determines which stat applies based on the character's described action. As Shawn explains when Sucks attempts to intercept an incoming projectile: "It's probably not a damage role because you're not trying to damage anything. So I guess defy danger dexterity."
The roll results follow the standard Dungeon World resolution:
- 10+: Complete success, the character avoids the danger
- 7-9: Partial success, the character avoids the worst but faces a complication, cost, hard choice, or lesser effect
- 6-: Failure, the danger manifests fully or the GM makes a move, and the player marks experience
As Shawn clarifies during a negotiation scene, "if you were offering something, it would be a parlay, but since you are just like, hey, do this. Yeah, it is a defy danger charisma." The move applies when a character makes a demand or faces a threat, rather than offering a trade or bargaining. When a character lacks specialty or experience relevant to the challenge, Shawn defaults to defy danger as the appropriate move.
On a 7-9 result, the GM may offer a hard choice. When Sucks rolled a 9 while trying to distract the [Pumpkin Creature](/wiki/Pumpkin Creature), Shawn presented this option: "If you want to keep distracting this thing in the way that you're doing it, it's gonna grab you. It's gonna get a hold of you with one of its tentacles."
Characters may receive bonuses to the roll from other circumstances. Acting on information gained from a successful Discern Realities check can provide a +1 bonus to the Defy Danger roll.
When a player rolls a 6 or below, the GM can make a hard move. In Session 7, Shawn demonstrates this by having Monster the kitten deal damage to Sucks when his Defy Danger Strength roll fails. As an animal companion, Monster deals base damage plus 2, resulting in 2 damage as the kitten goes "absolutely feral" with spitting, clawing, and biting.
Critical failures can have particularly interesting consequences. When Sucks rolls a critical 1 on Defy Danger Charisma to disguise the party's cart with trash, he believes his disguise is effective when it actually looks terrible—an example of the GM using the failure to establish a false belief.
Group Stealth Mechanics
The GM may allow one Defy Danger roll to cover the entire party's stealth approach when someone leads the sneaking. This streamlined approach means that rather than requiring separate rolls from each party member, a single character can make the roll while others support through the aid mechanic.
Aid Mechanic
When one character aids another on a Defy Danger roll, they can roll their bond with that character. A successful aid roll increases the lead character's total, potentially turning a partial success into a full success. The aid roll itself follows Dungeon World's standard bond mechanics, with results of 10+ providing a +1 bonus to the aided character's roll. A failed aid roll can reduce the total result.
The move integrates with Dungeon World's follower rules. When Cat attempted to use Defy Danger with Monster's help, Shawn explained: "When a follower helps you make a move that calls for roll, take plus one on that roll, but know that they will be exposed to any potential consequences." This resulted in Monster suffering the same sweater entrapment when Cat failed the roll with a 5, despite the +1 bonus from Monster's aid being offset by Cat's -1 debility.
Interfere Mechanic
Defy Danger can be opposed by another player character through the interfere mechanic, the flip side of the aid move. Shawn noted this rarely-used rule: "Something that I have literally never had to use until this game is that the flip side of the aid move is interfere, where if you succeed, they take minus two." When Safia attempted to interfere with Sucks's escape attempt, she rolled 2d6 plus bond while Sucks rolled 2d6 plus strength. Sucks achieved an 8 on his Defy Danger check despite his strength debility, while Safia failed her interfere roll, allowing him to break free.
Debilities
Debilities impose a -1 penalty to rolls using the affected ability score. This became critical during Sucks's attempt to grab Nick Silver's staff: when Sucks tried "a dolphin dive to grab [Nick Silver](/wiki/Nick Silver)'s staff," Shawn confirmed "Definitely divide. Injured dexterity" due to the sweater-induced debility. Sucks rolled a 4—a complete failure—resulting in him landing "on your stomach basically" and scorpioning into the dirt while [Nick Silver](/wiki/Nick Silver) escaped.
History
Session 3
Defy Danger appeared throughout Session 3 in multiple critical situations.
Safia used Defy Danger with Charisma when trying to intimidate the Dog-Masked Cultists while in bat form. Safia rolled an 11 (10 on the dice plus 1 from Charisma), achieving a complete success. The cultists fled in terror at the sight of the giant bat. One cultist, Monster, became particularly terrified and sat frozen in fear.
Vasso employed Defy Danger with Dexterity to quickly hog-tie The Sniff Lord before the creature could wake up. The roll resulted in a 7, a partial success, meaning Vasso managed the task but with some complication or cost.
Safia was asked to make a Defy Danger Intelligence check when attempting to understand the buttons controlling a portcullis. This represented her effort to puzzle out the mechanism under pressure.
Brad used Defy Danger Dexterity to cut the ropes binding the Sniff Lord without harming the creature. Brad rolled a 12 (10 on the dice plus 2 from Dexterity), achieving complete success and perfectly cutting the ropes.
Later in the session, Safia attempted to use Defy Danger with Strength to move rocks and create an exit from the underground caverns. She received a +1 bonus because she was acting on the results of a previous Discern Realities roll. Despite the bonus, Safia rolled catastrophically low—a 3 total—and suffered consequences in the form of being injured by falling rocks.
Session 4
Defy danger appears multiple times throughout Session 4 as the party investigates the frozen nilik and navigates the dangerous forest.
During negotiations with [Louise Guzman](/wiki/Louise Guzman), Vasso uses defy danger with charisma to demand better payment, establishing the mechanical framework for social conflict when no concrete offer is being made.
While pursuing [The Ice Blob](/wiki/The Ice Blob) through the forest during [The Frozen Nilik Investigation](/wiki/The Frozen Nilik Investigation), Vasso attempts to track the creature through wisdom but rolls a 4, a clear failure. Shawn explains the roll would be "a 2D6 plus wisdom. It's just going to be a defy danger because you don't have any, like, specialty or experience with" tracking. Vasso's player responds: "Ooh, I got a four. I did not do a good job."
Sucks rolls defy danger with charisma (getting an 8) when attempting to lure the creature out with popcorn, succeeding with complications. Later, when considering whether to light the [Toxic Burning Goo](/wiki/Toxic Burning Goo), Sucks makes a defy danger wisdom roll to determine if the action is wise. Shawn clarifies: "This is definitely wisdom to determine whether or not this is a good idea." Sucks rolls a 9, which is modified down to a partial success when Cat's attempt to aid fails with a 3.
Cat makes a defy danger wisdom roll (getting a 7) to use hunt and track to determine what [The Ice Blob](/wiki/The Ice Blob) was running from, demonstrating how the move can be used to piece together information about threats.
When attempting to communicate with [The Frozen Blob](/wiki/The Frozen Blob), Safia rolls defy danger charisma using an AI implant's unconventional communication method. Shawn calls for the roll, saying "give me a defy danger charisma. Because this is a very unusual way to communicate." Erin (playing Safia) rolls a 7, achieving a partial success.
Vasso also attempts communication through dance, rolling defy danger charisma and achieving an 11—a strong success. Dayna (playing Vasso) declares: "Eleven. Charisma. I'm so cool is. I'm a good dancer, guys."
Session 5
Defy Danger was the primary defensive mechanic during the combat encounter with the [Pumpkin Creature](/wiki/Pumpkin Creature)/Gordian.
Sucks used the move twice while attempting to dodge attacks. First, when a pumpkin was catapulted at Sucks and Abdul, Shawn called for Defy Danger with dexterity to shoot or throw a weapon at the incoming projectile. Sucks rolled an 8, a partial success that resulted in avoiding serious harm but having the bow knocked from hand: "You don't get hurt. Thankfully you're able to. You realize that it's coming seconds just a second before it hits you. But you do get your bow knocked out of your hand."
Later, Sucks rolled a 9 (another 7-9 result) while trying to evade the creature's vines. The hard choice offered was to either keep distracting the creature but get grabbed, or stop distracting it to avoid being caught.
Vasso attempted Defy Danger with strength to hack at the Gordian's vines before they could grab again. Shawn framed it as: "This thing is gonna try and grab you again before you get up close enough to hit it." Vasso rolled a 3 total, a clear miss, resulting in being struck by a pumpkin meteor hammer.
After the combat, Safia used Defy Danger with intelligence when attempting to collect usable goo samples from the burning, smoldering Gordian corpse before everything was destroyed. Rolling a 4 (5 total after modifier), the attempt failed: "You're digging around in this pumpkin, this pumpkin, this Gordian, to try and get some usable goo. But it looks like everything has been. They're burned or smashed into the dirt." Safia marked a point of experience for the failed roll.
Session 6
The session opened with Defy Danger being central to the Sweater Entrapment Incident. Shawn called for the move when Cat and Sucks attempted to don multiple sweaters: "So I'm gonna need each of you to roll a Defy Danger that describes how you are getting into and out of these sweaters." Both characters rolled 6s, suffering complete failures that left them trapped with debilities. Shawn demonstrated the flexibility of attribute selection: "So Defy Danger strength for sucks" when Sucks was forcing sweaters on, and "Yeah. Defy Danger dexterity" when Cat was attempting to wiggle into them.
Later, Cat attempted another Defy Danger with dexterity to escape, receiving Monster's help for a +1 bonus but suffering a -1 from the existing debility for a net zero modifier. The resulting roll of 5 meant Monster became trapped as well due to the follower consequence rule.
When Sucks tried to break free from Safia's grip, the move demonstrated player-versus-player conflict resolution. Safia used the interfere mechanic, rolling 2d6 plus bond against Sucks's Defy Danger strength roll. Sucks rolled an 8 despite the strength debility from the sweaters, while Safia failed, allowing Sucks to escape.
The move's final appearance came during the chase sequence when Sucks attempted to recover [Nick Silver](/wiki/Nick Silver)'s dropped staff before [Nick Silver](/wiki/Nick Silver) could retrieve it. Sucks declared: "Like I'm running forward and I jump hands first for this." Shawn called for Defy Danger with dexterity, noting the injured dexterity debility still in effect. The roll of 4 resulted in Sucks belly-flopping into the dirt while [Nick Silver](/wiki/Nick Silver) successfully recovered the staff and fled.
Session 7
The first Defy Danger roll occurs when Sucks attempts to disguise the party's cart with trash using Charisma. Shawn calls for the roll, and Sucks rolls a critical failure: "Well, that's a one. It doesn't count on the ring. No, I can't. If it lands on the ground, I don't usually count it, but if you want to count it, that's fine. No, I'll take my lumps when I, when I get them. That was a one. That is another one. So two ones. I got four." The result is that Sucks believes his disguise work is successful when it actually appears ineffective.
Later in the session, Abdul must roll Defy Danger with Strength when attempting to hold Monster the kitten to prevent her from attacking Safia's pigeon form. The roll goes poorly—Abdul reports "That's a one" on the dice, with his strength modifier of 2 bringing the total to 5. Shawn rules: "You'd have to take two damage because monster goes absolutely feral. It just starts spitting and clawing and biting." This demonstrates how failed Defy Danger rolls allow the GM to make hard moves, in this case having the ranger's animal companion deal its standard damage.
The most consequential Defy Danger rolls occur during the confrontation with the [Pine Cone Man](/wiki/Pine Cone Man). Safia attempts to distract the Pine Cone Man with an injured bird routine, rolling Defy Danger with Dexterity. She achieves a partial success. The distraction works, but Safia is captured.
Sucks then attempts to exit a manhole quickly and stealthily to rescue Safia, also rolling Defy Danger Dexterity. He rolls poorly: "Five plus one is six plus zero is six"—a total of 6, constituting a complete failure. This results in Sucks being grabbed, leading to both characters' capture by the Pine Cone Man.
Session 8
Defy Danger appeared twice in Session 8, demonstrating its versatility in resolving different types of challenges.
Shawn called for Safia to make a Defy Danger roll using intelligence when Safia examined weapons at Big Grimbo's stall. The roll determined whether Safia's AI could successfully recognize the circuitry in a halberd she was inspecting. The specific instruction from Shawn was: "Give me a defy danger wisdom intelligence."
Later in the session, Sucks needed to roll Defy Danger using dexterity when pulling out a chair for Greta. The situation arose because Sucks's antlers risked getting caught in Greta's braided hair during the courteous gesture. Shawn called for the roll with "Roll a defied injured dexterity" to resolve the potentially awkward moment. Sucks succeeded, with the result being: "You're amazingly. You don't get your antler stuck in her hair."
Session 9
Early in the session, Sucks uses Defy Danger with Strength to forcibly enter Yassandra's shed. Abdul, playing Sucks, rolls an 11 (9 on the dice plus a 2 Strength modifier), achieving a full success. As Shawn narrates: "Yeah, you smash the. You said the doorknob. Yeah, yeah, you smash the doorknob right off. And the padlock remains secure." The high roll allows Sucks to destroy the doorknob, though the padlock proves more resilient.
Later in the session, the move becomes central to Sucks's reconnaissance attempt, where Shawn calls for multiple Defy Danger rolls in quick succession. First, Sucks must roll "2d6 plus charisma to believably pretend to be" an old man, rolling a 7—a partial success that allows him to maintain his disguise but with complications. When questioned further, Shawn calls for another Charisma-based Defy Danger after Sucks claims to have a diuretic disease, this time rolling an 11 for a clean success.
The situation deteriorates when Sucks encounters mysterious goo. Shawn calls for Defy Danger with Dexterity to avoid getting the substance on himself, and Sucks rolls a 5—a clear failure. The GM makes a move, and the goo touches Sucks. Shawn then calls for another Dexterity-based Defy Danger "to kind of get away" as a branch begins fusing to Sucks's body, but this roll produces a 4, another failure. The consistently low Dexterity rolls lead to escalating consequences, ultimately resulting in the permanent fusion of the branch to Sucks's body—a lasting mechanical and narrative consequence of failed Defy Danger rolls.
Session 10
Defy Danger appeared twice in Session 10, both times as crucial moments in the party's escape from [Thunder Hogs](/wiki/Thunder Hogs) captivity.
The first instance occurred when Safia, in rat form, attempted to steal keys from a [Thunder Hogs](/wiki/Thunder Hogs) guard. Shawn called for the roll, and Safia rolled a 7—a partial success in the 7-9 range. Shawn presented the choice: "you can either get the keys, but because they're like basically hanging off of his belt and you're a rat that he would wreck. He would notice the weight kind of move around. So you can grab the keys and be noticed. Or you can grab something else and not be noticed." Safia chose to take the keys, accepting the consequence of being noticed. The guard slapped her, but she escaped with the keys, making the partial success meaningful to the prison break plan.
The second instance occurred when Vasso and Sucks completed their absurd bear costume and prepared to emerge from their cell. Shawn called for a Defy Danger roll with Charisma: "All right, so roll a Defy danger charisma." Vasso rolled an 8, another partial success. Despite being only a 7-9 result, the outcome was spectacularly effective—one guard knocked himself unconscious fleeing in terror while the other froze in shock. The move demonstrated how even partial successes in Dungeon World can produce dramatically successful outcomes when the fiction supports them.
Session 11
Defy Danger served as the primary mechanic driving tension as the party attempted to avoid detection in an underground facility. The move was called multiple times throughout the session as different characters faced threats.
Vasso was instructed to roll "2D6 plus strength" when dragging guard bodies, demonstrating the Strength-based application of the move. Safia faced a Dexterity-based defy danger when Shawn stated, "Then Safia, roll 2D6 plus dexterity to get there quick enough," as she attempted to hide from approaching guards.
Sucks rolled "2D6 plus dexterity" to remain still while disguised as a bear rug, and Cat was told to "roll 2d6 plus dexterity" when hiding in shadows. These rolls produced results ranging from 7 to 11, with the partial successes at 7 likely introducing complications while the higher results allowed clean success.
The Wisdom-based variant appeared when Shawn requested Safia "Give me a defy danger wisdom" as she attempted to locate and communicate with a Cockroach in the facility.
The most dramatic use came when Cat attempted to grab [The Silver Object](/wiki/The Silver Object) using a "defy danger. Strength" roll. Cat reported rolling a 4, prompting Shawn to describe the result: "you try and you feel through the fabric of the hood. You feel some sort of like kind of electric tingle. Then your vision goes black." This failure triggered Cat's transportation into a mysterious vision with [The One-Handed Entity](/wiki/The One-Handed Entity).